Dark Tides Saga
by The Great NeoDragon
Summary: in a mirrorverse where Autobots are evil and use propaganda to taint public view of Decepticons, a young femme joines a Neutral faction. There she meets a young, gifted scientist and finds herself caught in the tides of the warring factions. Ch 8 Up!
1. New Beginnings

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This fanfic is a Mirrorverse, where the Autobots are evil and use propaganda in order to make the Decepticons appear evil. This fic takes place in Cybertron, before the war was brought to Earth. The characters Twilight and Arsenal belong to me. All of the other characters belong to Marvel/Dreamwave/whoever the heck owns them now. Please don't sue me, I have no money.

The Dark Tides Saga

Ch 1

New Beginnings

Standing before a large, metallic building, Twilight glanced down at her digital map to make sure she was at the right place. After noting, for the fifth time, that she was indeed at the right place, she finally walked in. She was slightly short in height, even for a femme, and along with it came a slightly timid disposition. Slender in appearance, with a pearl color scheme with onyx highlights, her shoulders were thin but long, as were the mirrors of her satellite alternate mode. Although her radar broadcasting abilities would make her a substantial ally in either side of the growing war, she did not want to be a part of it. Instead, she decided to hone her abilities and stoke the fires of her passions as a scientist by joining the NAAW (Neutral Alliance Against War).

Having seen and been the victim of the ravages of war, Twilight knew all too well what the fighting was doing to the world they occupied. However, none of her brethren back at her old home had ever listened to her banter about peace. All she previously had to back her absurd claims were theories. Here, she decided, was where she would prove those theories.

Walking slowly into the lab, Twilight couldn't help but feel intimidated by the larger, stronger and obviously well-established scientists that scurried around her. They each had a place to go, a mission to accomplish. What in the world was she doing in such a prestigious place? Would they really grant her a job here, and allow her to study amongst such intelligent minds?

There was only one way to find out.

"Well…" the supervisor trailed off, looking down at her digital reports. "You make very good points, but you have nothing to back them up."

"I know," Twilight replied anxiously. "That's why I'm here."

"You think this war will lead to the destruction of this very planet…if you can actually prove it, this would be a great argument we could use to end the war," he said with a nod of his head. "Unfortunately, all of our private labs have been rented out. However, there is room in one of the public labs. But you will have to share it with two others."

"That's fine! Great, even!" The femme felt a wave of excitement course through her. She couldn't believe that she was being allowed to work alongside some of the NAAW's greatest minds. "Thank you so much!"

The supervisor chuckled. "I admire your enthusiasm. With the war, it's so hard to find it these days."

"Hopefully, if I can prove my theories the war won't last," Twilight replied.

"Do keep in mind that all of the scientists here have been working to stop the war. While your ideas sound great, don't allow yourself to be blinded by a narrow mind," the supervisor said after a short pause. Both of them stood. "Now, get working. If there are any problems contact me."

"Yes, uh-"

"Bombshell," the supervisor replied with another chuckle.

"Right, thank you Bombshell! I will get to work immediately!" the femme nodded before walking out.

Within the chambers of Iacon, a well-established Autobot Base, the council was meeting to discuss issues of great concern. The powerful and proud leader of the Autobots, Sentinel Prime, had just died from the wounds sustained in a recent battle with the Decepticon warlord, Megatron. Despite the combined efforts of the Autobot's greatest scientists and medical experts, they were unable to repair the vast amounts of damage their leader had sustained. The new leader had already been found as soon as the mortality of Sentinel Prime's wounds were discovered. The purpose of this meeting was to announce the new leader to the generals, so that they could forward this news to their own soldiers.

The council consisted of fifteen Autobots, each in a different field of expertise. They sat around a large table within a massive chamber. Only a handful of high-ranked Autobots outside of the council were ever allowed inside of the chamber to view the proceedings. There were no lights in the room, so the entire area was bathed in pitch blackness. Also surrounding the room were special little devices that disabled night-vision for those who had it. This, of course, was to protect the identity of the council members from potential spies.

Standing by the door, Arsenal watched the meeting with heightened interest. A slightly large, highly powerful Autobot, had he been seen through the eyes of a human he would have been identified as a mechanical Tyrannosaurus Rex. However, that image was not in the minds of his creators, as they had never seen such a beast. That type of design just seemed to be the most appropriate, as he needed a long, sturdy tail, strong legs and a heavy, strong head to carry all of the weight that was built onto him. He had been named Arsenal because he was, literally, a walking arsenal. The knowledge of his power brought the Autobot a great sense of pride, almost to the point of sheer arrogance. Of course he was not without a weakness. The incredible weight his legs were forced to carry greatly hindered his acceleration. He did have the capability to run at a fast speed, but it took a great deal of time to reach that speed. As his speed would increase, his ability to turn would decrease. However, he always brushed that minor flaw aside with a wave of his abnormally small foreclaw, saying that with all of the power he possessed, he had no need for agility.

His purpose there was that of a bodyguard. Due to his extreme power and defenses, if one of the Decepticon spies found and decided to attack the council, he would be able to fight them off long enough for them to escape.

"Today…" one of the high council droned. Just the tone of his voice made Arsenal want to shut himself down. However, he forced himself to listen. Despite the boredom that the council represented, today was important. Today was the day they would announce his new leader. "we mourn the death of our beloved leader Sentinel Prime, and embrace the new leader."

As the young Autobot watched the proceedings, he couldn't help but wonder who the new leader was going to be. In his mind, Arsenal had it narrowed down to two possible robots. Kup and Ironhide, two of the Autobot's current war heroes. Both of them have shown great prowess in battle, and there was no one else that he could figure was more worthy of such a position. Of course Arsenal _felt_ that _he_ possessed the capabilities of a good leader, but he wished to avoid the pressures and drama of leadership and leave it to those more adept.

"So," a newer, more enthusiastic voice, boomed through the room. "After careful consideration and with strong hope for the future we have elected Optimus as leader."

Arsenal could only stare at them in disbelief, his mind only repeating the same mantra. _What. The. Hell?!!_

The generals appeared to share the bodyguard's sentiments, as they shot each other looks of disbelief.

"He already knows of his new position and is in the process of matrix transferring at this moment," another member of the council, his voice a bit deeper. "Afterwards he shall meet with each of you to discuss future plans. This meeting is adjourned."

Arsenal could only stare blankly ahead in disbelief as he slowly exited the room along with the outraged generals. _How, WHY in the name of Primus did they elect Optimus as leader?!!_

There wasn't anything particularly wrong with their new leader, but there wasn't anything particularly great about him either. He was young, inexperienced and had been little more than a rookie scientist who would occasionally fight in battles. There were greater fighters, such as Ironhide and Kup, and even greater scientists like Wheeljack and Perceptor. They all had a vast amount of experience, much more than Optimus had.

With a sigh, Arsenal resigned his mental banter. The council had always chose great leaders, and he had to hope that their judgment skills have not weakened by the raging tides of war…

Standing in front of the door to her new lab, Twilight was almost afraid to step inside. What were her two lab partners going to be like? Were they going to be friendly? Shy? Mean? Nice? There was only one way to find out.

Slowly she pushed the door open, her optics immediately scanning the room for occupants. There were, not surprisingly, two other robots in the room. One of them had his back to her, apparently not noticing or acknowledging her presence. The other, however, immediately glanced over in her direction.

"Uh hi…" the pearl femme said timidly, one of her hands behind her head that served as an indication of her nervousness. "I'm Twilight…you're uh…new lab partner?"

The transformer waved casually. "Ah. I'm Ratchet. Here we really aren't partners, we just share the space. Between him and I," he gestured to the other robot, who still did not seem to notice her presence. "we take about two-thirds of the room here, so you can have the rest."

"Thank you," Twilight said with a nod. She looked over at the third robot, who appeared oblivious to everything except for his work. 

"Don't bother trying to talk to him. He thinks he's better than everyone else and probably wouldn't even acknowledge you," Ratchet said. "In speaking of acknowledgement, I need to get back to work."

The femme nodded to him, and began to set up her equipment in her section of the lab. However, as she worked, her optics never left the silent robot who was working so diligently on whatever project he absorbed himself into. Despite his apparent nonchalance, she wanted to at least introduce herself to him. With that resolution, she placed the rest of her supplies on the table and slowly approached him. He was a cubic-shaped robot of average height with a navy blue color scheme. Although his color was primarily blue, his forearms and lower part of his legs were silver.

Suddenly, she was standing next to him, not really knowing what to say.

"Um…hi," Twilight began, her hand trailing to the back of her head once again. "I'm your new lab partner! My name's Twilight! It's a pleasure to mee-"

"Move aside," a monotonous voice replied.

"Wh-what?"

She was suddenly staring into a bright ruby eye band. "You are in the way."

Looking behind her, the femme realized that she was standing between him and some of his equipment. Quickly she stepped aside and he reached forward to grab the equipment necessary for his current project. "Well, um, anyway, I'm-"

"Twilight. I heard you the first time," the navy blue robot replied. He began to set up the equipment. There was a long period of silence. Apprehension quickly faded into anger as the femme realized that he had no intentions of saying anything else.

"Well, aren't you…even going to introduce yourself?" she asked.

"Soundwave," the robot replied. He then turned to look at her again. "Our objective here is not to converse. It is to work. It is highly recommended that you leave me to my projects and work on yours."

With that said, he calmly turned and continued setting up his equipment. Twilight could only stare at him in disbelief before storming to her section of the lab.

_How rude!_

__

Author's Notes: I have taken on a challenge to write a -good- Mary Sue fic. This, I know, is going to be very, very difficult. So I decided that if I'm going to break one of my rules I will break them all. As a result, this fic is a mirror verse (Where the Autobots are evil and use propaganda to make the Decepticons look like the villains) with two original characters (Twilight and Arsenal). My objective is to break all of the rules that I've mentally established and see if I can still make it good. I hope that you like it so far.


	2. Observation

Dark Tides Saga

Chapter 2

Within the chambers of the new Prime's current headquarters, Arsenal stood. He had been told by the council to wait for his new leader's orders and, despite his wariness of their decision to elect Optimus as leader in the first place, had been compelled to comply.

Looking at the massive war machine, Optimus Prime glared at him with a mixture of fear and disdain. Until his new status as leader he, like most Autobots, did not know of Arsenal's existence. The creature was a well-kept secret known amongst only the highest ranking Autobots. Arsenal was dangerous, too dangerous to be kept alive in his opinion. Yet, his destruction would cause too much trouble and involve more politics than Optimus wished to involve himself with at the moment.

"In a few days, I am going to have a conference at Terikon," Optimus began. "That is where-"

"Where the NAAW's greatest labs are located," Arsenal growled, his tone indicating boredom. His massive jaw, its main purpose being only for fighting, moved little when he spoke. "I understand all of that nonsense, _Prime_."

There was a long pause. Finally, the Autobot leader sighed. "There I will try to convince them to join our side. Unfortunately, I think they will not be overly cooperative. That is where you come in."

Arsenal's crimson eyes blazed. His voice was tinged with sadistic pleasure. "I demolish the entire base and all of its inhabitants…"

Optimus shook his head vigorously. "Not entirely. Some of those scientists are the best Cybertron has ever seen, we don't want them dead. We want them with us. Destroy the base, yes. But once I meet with the scientists, I will give you a list of who to capture. Remember, I want them captured, _not_ destroyed."

"You take the fun out of it, Prime," the massive monstrosity stated with a sigh of disappointment. "but I will comply. Just give me the word."

"Excellent. You are dismissed."

Twilight sighed with aggravation, her experiments were going nowhere. What made matters worse was the ongoing headache that continued to plague her. She had run multiple system scans but found nothing amiss. This, of course, did little to help her studies.

During the past few weeks although she worked right alongside them, the femme had little social contact with Ratchet, and none with Soundwave. Yet, despite Soundwave's rude behavior, the pearl robot found him fascinating. He was always there when she entered in the mornings, and always when she left at night. Always concentrating, always working so intensely, did he ever rest? In a weird way, it was always a comfort to see him. The war rapidly changed the world around her, and everyday he was always the same.

She shook her head violently to clear her thoughts. Thinking of the stoic, navy blue robot was not going to help her studies, either.

Finally, she pushed herself away from the lab equipment and decided to go outside for a walk. Although it was never confirmed that stress was capable of causing physical discomfort in non-organics, Twilight was willing to try anything to rid herself of the persistent pain.

Walking outside, she gazed up into the midnight sky. There was no breeze or rain, as most weather conditions were unheard of in Cybertron. In fact, the planet was virtually uninhabitable for living organisms. It was fortunate that Transformers only needed energon to sustain themselves, and this planet was full of it.

Or was it?

As the war progressed, Twilight had noticed that both factions were beginning to have energy problems. The fighting, the weapons, everything required much more energon than what was normally consumed. What began as a mere thought became a frightening theory.

A theory that the war was, literally, killing the entire planet.

But how could she prove it? She wasn't even sure where, or how, to start.

Her hand trailed to her temple. This walk apparently wasn't helping anything, as her headache had only worsened. With that in mind, the femme turned around and walked back to the lab.

_Might as well get back to work_, she mused, _This headache doesn't feel like it's going to go away anytime soon-_

As Twilight opened the door to the lab, she found herself, literally, face to face with Soundwave.

She froze in surprise. If he too was startled by the situation, he didn't show it. "Oh-uh-s-sorry, didn't re-realize you were-"

Suddenly, Soundwave drew closer. So close, in fact, that his face almost touched hers. The femme stood paralyzed, flustered by his odd behavior. Finally, the navy blue robot stepped back and raised one hand, his index finger resting gently between her optics.

"Your cranium suffers from insufficient energy transfer. Internal wires either disconnected or improperly connected. Such a small configuration error that it is undetectable through average testing. Suggest a simple surgical procedure to correct the error." Soundwave said monotonously. Once that was said, he lowered his hand and walked past her and out the door.

Twilight stared at him in shock as he announced the diagnosis. That was the most he had ever said to her. Also, if he had ignored her up to this point, how would he know about her headache to begin with? "How… did you know?"

He stopped and looked at her over his shoulder. "Observation."

_Author's Notes: Finally, the long awaited (coughyeah rightcough) second chapter to Dark Tides Saga is finally complete! I hope you like it, and that it's decent even if it is a Mary Sue. Heck, it's not only a Mary Sue, but it's a Mary Sue/Wesley story! (Twilight/Arsenal) Double the danger! Double the fun! Anyway, it may take me awhile to put up the next chapter because I am simultaneously working on my Kane/RVD WWE fic "Slow Chemical" as well as brainstorming a few others -and- working to boot. However, this story will be updated as soon as possible. I hate having incomplete stories._


	3. Secrets of the Universe

Dark Tides Saga

Chapter 3 - Secrets of the Universe

**_Amidst the small colony where she had been created, Twilight sat next to a slightly smaller masculine robot._

"The war has begun!"

The android smiled brightly to her. His body would forever remain the same, but in his innocent stare and clueless mentality it was easy to see that he was newly built. In his young mind, war apparently was associated with honor, heroism and glory.

Don't speak of war.

Twilight felt a strong connection to the small robot. He had been built with the same blueprints as she, and both by the Constructeons*. It showed, as he looked like a male version of her, with a crimson color scheme as opposed to pearl.

"I'm gonna join the Autobot army!"

Hush, you're too inexperienced.

"I mean, once I get older and more experienced!"

The war won't last that long.

"Longhaul thinks it will!"

Longhaul's wrong.

"Scrapper thinks it will last forever."

They're all wrong.

Suddenly, the ground beneath them began to tremble. The stars sprinkling the midnight sky were clouded by thick, black smoke. Missiles began to rain from the air.

War brings only death.

Twilight could only watch as everything erupted into chaos. Her sibling disappeared into the smoke. In her mind she called his name, reached for him. In reality she sat frozen as the world exploded around her. The scent of smoke and death and circulated energon was overwhelming.

Suddenly, as quickly as it had begun, it was over. She found herself standing amidst a decimated colony. Broken husks and pools of energon were all what was left of the small area. Her brother laid shattered at her feet, dead before he even had a chance to live.

Yet, she was not the only one who stood among the wreckage. There was one other, so far that she could barely make out his features, yet close enough to see his outline. The massive body and odd posture would stick in her mind for eternities to come. But nothing burned into her mind as deeply as the monster's fiery eyes.

**

"Awaken, Twilight. You are experiencing a temporary lapse of logic."

Suddenly, Twilight was roused from her chaotic slumber by a hard shake of her shoulder. She darted her head up, gears speeding up in alarm. A mixture of relief and surprise came over her when she realized it was the elusive Soundwave that had awoken her. 

The pearl femme glanced around to see that she was in the lab. Apparently she must have fallen asleep during her studies. The room was empty except for her and Soundwave, Ratchet must have gone off somewhere. It was no surprise, as he tended to go off without a word and tend to his own devices outside of the confinements of the lab. Shaking her head to rid her senses of the nightmare, she finally looked back up at the navy blue robot. Soundwave had one hand on the desk, the other on her slender shoulder. His visor was slightly brighter than usual, indicating confusion and perhaps concern. Twilight wasn't sure.

"Sorry…I uh, didn't mean to disturb you…" she said meekly, raising one hand behind her head. He released his grip on her shoulder and stepped back.

"Apology unnecessary," Soundwave responded in his usual monotone. Yet…his voice sounded slightly more tired, his posture just a bit more weary. An untrained eye would never have noticed a thing. Ever since his correct diagnosis not even a week before, the young female began to harbor a growing fondness for her azure companion. While always keeping to her studies, she couldn't help but watch him at times. He was so intense, so focused, he had a discipline unlike any she had seen before. During these watches, she noticed that his body language and the brightness of his eye band would change ever so slightly in accordance to his mood. Now, actually being able to tell his mood simply through observation was still quite a feat, one that she had not been able to accomplish.

"So-uh…how's your project going along?" Twilight asked, wondering if that may be the cause of her lab partner's weariness. Never had he told her anything about his project, but as time elapsed she noticed pieces of electronic equipment being constructed individually and at times linked together through wires. She had no idea what in the world he could be making, but whatever it was, it must have been incredibly important to Soundwave for him to work on it so relentlessly.

"Stagnant." The navy blue robot answered. The femme waited for him to continue, but after a moment she realized that he had no intentions of explaining.

"Well, um, apparently our projects aren't going anywhere…want to, uh, go outside? Maybe the change of scenery will inspire us?" She suggested. To Twilight's surprise and delight, Soundwave nodded in agreement…

"Aren't the stars beautiful, Soundwave?" Twilight asked, in awe of the breathtaking sight of the stars and the full moon. There was no response, but she had not expected one. Not even a mile away from the building that housed all of the laboratories was another, massive one connected to others by a series of bridges. On the roof of that large building the two robots sat. Soundwave was leaning back on the palms of his hands with his knees slightly bent. Twilight was sitting in a loose fetal position. "What do you think they could be? Just some shining lights in the sky? Other planets that can glow-"

"Silence," Soundwave suddenly interrupted. "Listen."

She immediately quieted. Tense, listening for an invisible enemy, her gears sped up in anticipation. But nothing came. After a moment, she looked at him, perplexed.

"I don't hear anything…" the femme whispered.

"You're not listening," he replied mechanically. Soundwave didn't look the least bit alarmed, perhaps it was not some unseen enemy he was referring to. With a soft sigh, she closed her eyes and concentrated. After a moment, she could hear the faint inner workings of the mechanical buildings, the roar of the engines of Cybertronians built with the gift of flight, and other, unidentifiable sounds. Individually they were nothing more than background noise, but together they merged into a harmonic orchestra. In a strange, unnatural way, it was almost…beautiful. Twilight opened her eyes to look back at her companion, who was now staring at her with surprising intensity. "Understand?"

__

In the crimson depths the femme noticed a passion that was rarely found in the stoic robot. It was deep and strong and yet even in its intensity was almost impossible to detect, as Soundwave hid his emotions so incredibly. At that moment, she realized why he spoke so little, he was always _listening_. 

"The secrets of the universe reveal themselves to those who listen," he explained, looking back up into the starlit sky. "Most do not care to understand. I experience an illogical desire to share this experience, this insight, with another…"

_He's…referring to me…! _Twilight realized, her internal mechanics whirling at the thought. In a strange, scientific way it was romantic.

"…so I began to construct an offspring. A sentient being, capable of his own thoughts and personality yet one whom I could pass on my knowledge to…"

Reality punched her in the face as she realized that Soundwave was referring to his project, not her.

"…Unfortunately, I have reached stagnation. Multiple attempts of overcoming it have failed. I am…at a loss."

The navy blue robot's tone was -slightly- agitated as he tried to find the correct verbal articulation to describe his situation. The femme quickly recovered and placed one hand on his shoulder.

"Well, maybe I can help!" Twilight piped in. "What is it that you're having such trouble with?"

"Attempts to create an original, sentient personality have proved futile. All trials have resulted in copies of my own or other's personalities," Soundwave explained.

"So…you're trying to program a personality into him, and at the same time try to make the personality his own?" the pearl femme repeated in her own words, not entirely certain if she understood the dilemma. Her companion nodded in response. She thought about it for a moment. "Well, it is said that creators often put a part of their spark* into their creations. Perhaps you are…um…being too logical about it, if that makes any sense. Instead of trying to implant an entire personality into him, why don't you try just a small part of yourself? If you put just enough to start, if you give him the ability to grow and learn, his personality will develop along with his experiences?"

There was a long moment of silence, as Soundwave considered her words. "You may be correct. Perhaps we should return to the lab. I wish to renew my efforts."

Twilight nodded in agreement.

Soundwave and Twilight entered their lab to find an unidentifiable robot speaking with Ratchet. The stranger was massive in size, and his posture indicated powerful strength and status. The pearl femme was immediately intimidated and stepped back, partially behind Soundwave.

"Hey, there you guys are!" Ratchet said, turning to face them. "Soundwave, Twilight, this is the Autobot leader, Optimus Prime. Prime, these are my lab partners, Soundwave and Twilight."

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance," the large robot said kindly. His voice was strong, but soft, the tone immediately putting Twilight at ease. However, Soundwave's defensive posture didn't change, and he stared at the larger robot with acute intensity. "You must be Soundwave…I've heard a lot about you. It's quite an honor to me-"

"State your intentions," the navy blue android stated bluntly. Twilight couldn't help but be surprised at her friend's downright rude response.

Optimus Prime sighed. "As you probably already know, many honorable Autobots have been slain by the greedy hands of the Decepticons, including our former leader Sentinel Prime. I, as the new leader of the Autobots, am seeking new recruits for our organization. Soundwave, your accomplishments are widely recognized, and your skills could be put to great use with us."

Soundwave didn't reply. The room was enveloped in an uncomfortable silence.

"He…just needs some time to think about it, I'm sure!" Ratchet piped in after a moment, breaking the tension. Optimus Prime looked over at him.

"Yes…well, please respond with an answer as soon as possible," the Autobot leader said politely. "I understand that this would be a tough decision, but time is of the essence. I await your answer."

With that said, the large robot walked past Soundwave and Arsenal, and out the door to speak with other scientists in other sections of the building. Once he was gone, Ratchet glared at his navy blue lab partner.

"I can't believe you did that! That was the leader of the Autobots, and you just snuffed him as if he was just some Decepticon drone!" the brightly colored robot cried.

"Your bias is evident," Soundwave responded. "I will hear both sides of the argument before I decide. Rash decisions are unwise."

Twilight listened to their argument in increasing aggravation.

_Why do we have to join either faction?!_

"Rash?!" Ratchet shook his head vigorously. "Have you paid any attention to the news monitor? The Decepticons have destroyed four cities. Four -entire- cities. Four entire -neutral- cities! That's despicable!"

_Why can't we just end this pointless war? Doesn't anybody see that it is destroying our world?!!_

Her lips moved, but no sound would come.

"It is unwise to believe everything you hear," Soundwave replied mechanically. "However, if you harbor such illogical sentiments against the Decepticons, then why don't you join the Autobots?"

Twilight's energon circulated in a dangerously rapid increase of speed. She began shaking in anger.

"I am!" Ratchet said with a nod. "I already told Prime. Tomorrow I'm moving out of here and into the Autobot labs."

_Why does everyone wish to throw their lives away so recklessly?! Why do soldiers fight for a meaningless cause?! Why does no one care that the world that sustains them will become nothing more than a wasteland if this continues?! WHY?!_

Soundwave and Ratchet's argument was quickly halted as Twilight collapsed on the floor with a resounding thud and clank of metal…

*Constructeons - Constructicons before they joined the Decepticons.

*Spark - I didn't necessarily want to say 'soul' since Transformers may not see things that way. Beast Wars and Beast Machines tend to refer to sparks as if they were souls, so I basically used that.

Author's Notes: Finally Chapter 3 is complete! Woohoo! Sorry it took so long, I was having a bit of a hard time with this one. Right now I think I know what I want to do for the next chapter, so it shouldn't take quite as long. It was leading up to the next chapter's events that was proving difficult. I hope the wait wasn't too long and that you liked the chapter! =)


	4. Dark Premonitions

Dark Tides Saga

Chapter 4 - Dark Premonitions

_Hatred. _

Vengeance. 

Wrath.

Beautiful stars in the moonlit sky covered in a veil of thick, black smoke.

Chaos. 

Isolation. 

Terror.

The once-prosperous colonies now desolate ruins.

Destruction. 

Conflict. 

Corruption.

Energon erupts from the shattered husks of any and all touched by the dark tides of war.

Standing on the sidelines, watching the ravages of war, Twilight cried for it all to stop.

Senseless, meaningless, pointless chaos.

She had once heard an Autobot soldier, cracked and broken and trembling as his body lost the fight against death, claim that it was a great honor to "give his life" for such a "noble" cause.

**What** noble cause?!

Twilight wanted to scream at this nameless, faceless soldier.

You will not be remembered for your sacrifice!

Your husk will simply be cast aside, your memory forgotten, your entire life nothing but a terrible waste! The sun will rise, the war will continue, more Cybertronians will be built in your place. Yet, you will never see another sunrise. You will never laugh with another friend, accomplish another task. You will be nothing more than a casualty, a number in a growing death toll! And you say that you are honored?!!

Why?

WHY?!!

Twilight's optics brightened as she regained her senses. The sensors indicated that she was inside of the lab she, Soundwave and Ratchet shared…

Ratchet…

She sat up abruptly, her memory of the recent occurrences rushing back to her like a tide. The action caught the attention of the elusive, azure robot who was, oddly enough, not in his usual place at the back of the lab. Instead, he was standing near the table she had been laying on.

"Twilight. You have been unconscious for an abnormally long time," Soundwave said monotonously. 

"Really?" the femme said, surprised. She raised one hand to the back of her head nervously. "What happened to Ratchet?"

"Departed," He answered. 

"Already? Oh no…I had wanted to say goodbye to him before he left…" Twilight said softly, lowering her arm back down to her side. Her large, emerald optics darkened questioningly. "How long _was_ I out for?"

"One complete lunar cycle*," Soundwave droned. His visor flickered faintly, indicating…worry? She wasn't sure. Except for the fluctuating eye band, he was motionless. Even if her impression was wrong, the thought of it was moderately touching. "Scans were unable to identify the cause of your sudden shut down."

She shook her head. "I wouldn't worry about it, Soundie, I feel fine now-"

Realizing what she had called him, she immediately froze. Pet names were uncommon amongst Cybertronians, as it indicated an intimacy that most friendships rarely reach. For a moment, she expected him to be annoyed by her choice of words, maybe even go so far as to snap at her or warn her never to do it again. But he said nothing. With an uncomfortable laugh, her hand trailed to the back of her head again. "I-uh, do feel a little low on energon…"

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, dispelling the fog of nervousness that had developed. Soundwave turned his gaze to the door. "Open."

Bombshell poked his head into the room and nodded at the two. "Soundwave, Twilight. We have a visitor. Appears we have gotten a bit popular, yesterday the 'great' Optimus Prime visits us, and today the 'mighty' Megatron-"

"M-Megatron?!" Twilight stammered. She had heard terrible stories about him, about the Decepticons in general. Ruthless, cowardly, known to destroy any and all who refused to give themselves to their cause… Although she had never met the warlord, immediately she wanted nothing to do with him. Soundwave, on the other hand, appeared to be intrigued.

"Very well. We will meet him," the navy blue robot replied stoically, much to the femme's dismay…

"We believe that, as a culture and as a superior race, that we should be more than what we have allowed ourselves to be," Megatron said strongly. his voice surprisingly full of passion. The intensity matched in his burning, ruby optics. The speech was taking place in the large, main room where most NAAW conferences were held. Soundwave and Twilight were not the only spectators, other neutral androids also hovered nearby. "For millions of years we were slaves to the Quintessons and we managed to defeat them for our freedom. Yet, even after all that, we allow ourselves to waste our talent and our lives in this boring world. We have the technology required to pursuit the galaxies, all we need is the state of mind."

Twilight had to admit that his speech was enthralling. He was obviously intense and passionate about his beliefs, and wanted dearly to share them to all who would listen. His intentions sounded innocent enough, if that's all he wanted, than why was there a war in the first place? What were the 'noble' Autobots trying to prevent him from doing? There must be more to this than meets the eye.

The femme glanced over at Soundwave but, as always, his expression and posture were unreadable.

"Before you continue, Megatron," one of the other scientists, a tall, large robot named Skyfire, interrupted. "Perhaps you would like to explain the four colonies that your army has so viciously destroyed."

Twilight's optics darkened considerably at the mention of the ravaged neutral colonies. Duero was the colony where she had been built, and the second colony to be destroyed…

The great silver mechanoid's shoulders slumped and he appeared to sigh, as if he had anticipated, even dreaded, the very question. "Despite the overwhelming evidence against us, we are not responsible for those attacks. I understand the strength of your conviction, and we have tried as hard as possible to find the culprits responsible for these terrible occurrences. However, our efforts have currently been in vain. All I can tell you is that no one under my order has ever performed such a travesty-"

"Liar!" another scientist, Wheeljack, cried. His emotional outburst drew stares from the others, including Twilight. "I was in th' third colony you destroyed, ye bastards! I know y'did it! I know it! Who else would do it?! We were right by one of the most well-known Autobot bases so they had no reason to attack us and we have no known terrorists except for _you!_"

He stepped forward, his fists shaking. Bombshell and Shrapnel had to hold him back. Megatron's optics darkened. Twilight, too, began to feel herself shaking with barely contained rage. How could she have allowed herself to even listen to his courageous babble, when it was _his_ team that destroyed her colony, her brother, her life?!

"I'm sorry for your loss. Truly, I am," the warlord stated, his voice soft. "But we are not responsible-"

"Just leave!" Wheeljack snarled, his voice taking a sinister edge. "We don't want yer kind here!"

"We're not going to just stand here and listen to your lies!" another voice cried from the sea of agitated scientists.

"At least listen to him first!" Bombshell defended. "He may just be telling the truth!"

Megatron appeared to be terribly annoyed, even angered by the situation but despite the accusations remained as calm as possible. "I will depart. However, please keep my words in mind. The Decepticons could use any and all allies. Do not be afraid to stand up and fight for what you believe in. At the same time, don't allow others to influence you and only do what you feel is right."

With that said, the warlord turned his back to the angry crowd and exited.

Twilight watched him leave with a terrible feeling of abnormally fierce hatred. She almost felt guilty at the emotion, as such intense negative emotions were not normally within her character. He _could_ be telling the truth. The Decepticons _could_ have been framed for it. They _could_ simply be scapegoats. Yet, for reasons she couldn't explain, nothing she could think of would dispel her anger.

_The monster's fiery eyes glared down at her. The dark color scheme appeared almost black in comparison to those terrible burning orbs._

"It is confirmed that the Decepticons have been behind this attacks…"

The hatred and disdain for all organisms practically radiated from the vile creature's glare.

"The totalitarian views of the Decepticons have gone too far with another attack on a neutral colony…"

Suddenly, the behemoth raised its massive head to the stars and roared. The terrible shriek echoed throughout the smoke-filled skies…

Soundwave suddenly gripped her shoulder, startling her from her thoughts. He had been listening to everything the entire time and, until that moment, had said nothing. Looking into her friend's ruby eye band, Twilight noticed a considerable brightening. His words brought with it a torrent of surprise and confusion.

"Megatron's declaration is truthful…"

Walking into one of the hidden quarters of the Autobot main base, making sure that no one was watching, Optimus Prime shut and locked the door behind him. Not that the lock was necessary, the door itself was expertly camouflaged to hide itself from even the most well-trained eyes.

The room was shrouded in darkness. There was a light available, but it was unnecessary. The one he looked for stood just before him, visible only by his bright, burning eyes. Despite his massive size, the monster's color scheme allowed him to blend well with the darkness.

Explanations and gestures were not needed, not wanted. There was only one thing Arsenal wanted to hear, and his audio receptors almost strained to hear it.

He was not disappointed.

"It is time."

__

* - One entire day.

_Author's Notes: Sorry this chapter took me so long. Between work and art and my other fanfics, this one has been sort of placed on the back burner. But, as I've said, I will continue this story until completion. (If I can help it, I will never allow a story to become completely idle. It agitates me to no end when I get really into a story just to find that it will never be continued.) Funny thing - although authors tend to love their Mary Sue characters, I am more attached to Arsenal than I am to Twilight, and look forward to writing the next chapter (which will feature him much more than these recent chapters had.). I hope that, despite the terrible blows the story has had since before its creation (the fact that this has to be a Mary Sue fic, AKA has to focus on Twilight), I manage to keep the story and original characters interesting, while at the same time keep the real characters in-character._

__


	5. Chaos

Dark Tides Saga

Chapter 5 - Chaos

"So…why do you think Megatron's telling the truth?"

In one of the more prestigious energon refill stations*, Twilight sat at a small table with Soundwave. The latter was sitting erect, his gaze turned slightly aside. Ever since his cryptic declaration after the Decepticon leader's unsuccessful speech just a few hours ago, the navy blue robot had said nothing further about it. In fact, looking into his flickering ruby eye band, if the femme didn't know better she would have thought he was nervous. Yet, what could he possibly have to say that would make him so uneasy? Soundwave certainly was not the type to care about what others thought, and he was much too cautious to make claims without having something solid to back it up. It didn't make any sense.

What was even more surprising was that _he_ was the one who suggested going to the energon refill station. He rarely ever went out, and when he did it was usually to obtain something for his project. Twilight had come to the understanding awhile ago that he simply wasn't the sociable type. So what was causing this sudden change of attitude?

As she took a small sip from the small bowl of energon, Soundwave turned his gaze back to her and rested his hands on the table.

"Source difficult to explain. I will make the attempt," he stated. Yet, his normally monotonous voice had a slight tinge, as if he was uncomfortable with what he was about to say. Twilight placed her bowl down and rested her hands on either side. A small pang of nervousness rose within her. This wasn't like Soundwave at all. What could he have to say that would cause even _him_ apprehension? "I have the ability to read the thought processes of others."

The femme stared at him for a moment in confusion. Suddenly, it dawned on her. "You're psychic?!"

"Affirmative," Soundwave answered.

Twilight reared back in surprise, almost knocking her bowl off of the table. Psychic powers were vaguely described as an ability granted only to chosen organics. As often as their technology had strived to duplicate the strange phenomenon, it had never been achieved. Thought processes were simply too complex and random to be analyzed correctly. Yet, most Cybertronians had fancied this 'failure' as a blessing. Psychic abilities were considered taboo, as the potential that kind of power was extremely dangerous.

Suddenly, a terrible thought made its way into her awareness. What if…what if Soundwave had read her mind? What if he knew all of her fears, hopes, dreams…her feelings for him?! The thought of it was terrifying. She pushed herself off of her seat and stepped a few feet back. Turning her back to him, the femme bolted out of the refill station.

"Twilight-wait!" she vaguely heard Soundwave call after her. Yet, not even the surprising strain in his voice could stop her. Even the _idea_ that he could know everything about her was overwhelming. What if all this time he had been reading her thoughts? What if he had been toying with her, doing different things and reading her internal reactions? Perhaps he knew of her intrigue and decided to see how he could twist it to meet his own ends?

Yet, the more she thought about it, the more foolish she felt. Why would someone as focused and intense as Soundwave waste his time on sadistic games? Why would he tell her that he had that ability if he planned to use it against her? If he had been reading her mind, he probably would have been able to predict her reaction. Her run slowed to a walk and finally to a complete stop. A small pang of guilt resounded within her. Despite Soundwave's generally stoic demeanor, he did seem nervous about telling her. Her outrageous and extreme actions certainly must have hurt his feelings.

_How ridiculous I must have looked, _she mused, _running out of the station like that… He deserves an apology._

With that in mind, the femme glanced around to see where she was. She appeared to be near the outskirts of the colony, the lab was only about a ten millicycles* from her current location. Figuring that Soundwave was probably on his way back to the lab by now, she decided to go there. As Twilight began her walk, a sudden tremor threatened to knock her off of her feet. The ground was shaking! Having no body of water anywhere on the planet, Cybertron was incapable of natural earthquakes. So there was only one thing that came to the femme's mind - We're under attack!

She was not mistaken. As soon as her mind conjured the thought, missiles began to rain from the sky. Other neutral Cybertronians scrambled from the buildings nearby, screaming and preparing for the unseen enemy. Paralyzed by fear, Twilight could only stand still as the missiles exploded around her.

_No, not again!_

She watched as her brother was enveloped in the thick, black smoke.

She had stood paralyzed as he fell under the cascading missiles.

She had stood and watched him die, too terrified to save him.

With all of the strength and courage her chassis could muster, she made her way back to the lab. Soundwave was one of the only friends she had here, and she wasn't going to allow him to suffer the same fate as her sibling.

__

After what seemed like an eternity of missiles and smoke and screams, she finally found the lab - or what remained of it. The entire building was in ruins!

"Soundwave!" Twilight cried as she neared the dreadful sight. The tall and awe-inspiring building that housed Cybertron's greatest neutral scientists was now a wasteland of debris. Severed limbs and parts of the victims unable to escape the missiles and the collapsing structures were strewn about. The femme had to turn her gaze momentarily from the terrible sight, her internal mechanics whirling in horror. She prayed to Primus that Soundwave was not amongst the wreckage…

__

As she forced herself to look back at the gruesome image, something attracted her attention. Another Cybertronian had apparently just arrived, searching through the debris. He was a stocky, familiar robot…

"Soundwave!" At the sound of his name, the other android shot a glance towards her before renewing his search. Twilight rushed to his side and grabbed onto his arm. "We've got to get out of here!"

"Negative. Must salvage project," Soundwave stated as he pulled his arm from her grasp and turned to look at her. It was then she noticed that he was not unscathed. There were small cracks in his chest, one small crack on his visor and one of his arms was dislocated, connected to his body only through wires.

Before she could say anything, a loud explosion temporarily stole her gaze. A nearby building had gone up in flames as a rain of missiles. She screamed in fear and grabbed her friend's functional arm again.

"Soundwave, y-you're hurt! We're about to get run down by an army here! Please - you can't complete your project anyway if you're dead!" Twilight begged.

The stoic robot pulled his arm once again from her grasp with a more vigorous shake of his head. "_Must_ salvage project!"

As he returned to his search, Twilight found herself at a loss about what to do. She didn't want to leave Soundwave here, but he wouldn't budge unless he found what he was looking for. With a sigh and a prayer that a missile wouldn't fall on their heads, the femme also began to look. She had a vague idea of what the project looked like, and hope that it was indeed salvageable.

"Success," He suddenly declared as he pulled the electronic pieces and wires from the debris. It appeared damaged, but surprisingly in fair condition despite the circumstances. He then placed it down on top of the wreckage and hit a button on his left shoulder. His chest panel lowered, revealing a large, hollow opening. Twilight watched in surprise as he folded up the electronic pieces and placed them in his chest compartment. Afterwards, Soundwave climbed onto his feet, grabbed the femme by her wrist and took off into a run. His stocky body type did not allow him for a great amount of speed, and she easily kept up with him. A loud explosion resounded behind them as a rain of missiles fell onto what was left of the former lab and the wreckage exploded!

"We are not under army attack," He suddenly stated as he looked up into the smoke-filled sky. "All missiles launch from the same source."

"You're saying that one Decepticon is doing all this?!" Twilight asked, skeptical. 

"Partially correct. Whether or not it is a Decepticon cannot yet be determined," The azure robot answered. A sudden flash of light and a bang resounded as the world around her was suddenly enveloped in smoke and flames. Soundwave's grip suddenly released and the femme felt herself crashing onto the rough terrain with a scream of pain and terror. As the smoke cleared, she pushed herself onto her feet, one of her legs protesting painfully, and looked around frantically for her friend.

"Soundwave?!" she cried. As the smoke faded a bit more, she could see him leaning back against one of the buildings not yet entirely destroyed. There were even more cracks on his chest, his visor was dark and his damaged arm was completely gone. She limped to his side. "A-Are you alright?!"

"A--Affirmative…" The damaged android raised his head slightly, his visor brightened. He pushed himself from the wall and took a step forward. As he moved, sparks shot from his damaged shoulder and chest. Watching him and feeling her own leg ready to give out at any moment, Twilight had a terrible feeling that they weren't going to make it out of this. All of her research, all of his, everything that they had ever gone through was going to be for nothing because of one, single, solitary monster!!

_The burning crimson eyes glared into her soul. The creature threw its head back and roared. The thick, black smoke and the maroon haze of spilt energon floated about him…_

No!

Twilight shook her head vigorously to clear away the awful thought. Even if she did not survive, she would not allow Soundwave to fall to the same horrible end as her brother. Never would she allow her cowardice to cost another life. _Never again_.

__

With a sudden, risky idea, she looked up into the sky and watched as a single, large pod of missiles was shot into the air. The pod split into multiple missiles and rained down on the colony. The pod had been shot north from their current location. Casting one last glance at her wounded friend and ignoring the terrible pain in her damaged appendage, she turned and dashed towards the direction of the attacker…

From the security of the mountain-like abandoned buildings on the outskirts of the colony, Arsenal roared as he unleashed other pod from the launcher on his back. Almost drunk with sadistic glee, he watched as the pod unleashed missiles onto the center of the colony. As the pathetic neutral scientists scrambled from their decimated colony, the monster looked for those on his leader's list.

Skyfire, Bombshell, Kickback, Wheeljack, Soundwave…Arsenal's burning optics scanned each of the fleeing robots. As those identified as Wheeljack and Kickback came into sight, he lowered his massive head and shot a stunning laser from both of his shoulder-mounted guns and struck Wheeljack. As he collapsed onto the ground, the other scientist looked up at the monster and backed away. Arsenal chuckled as he shot another laser and watched as he also fell.

The other scientists were hardly paying attention. As the missiles rained from the skies they were focusing all of their strength on simply escaping Terikon with their lives.

_Such fools! _Arsenal mused. _Their neutral babble and pacifistic ways will cost them their lives!_

With that in mind, he fired a barrage of missiles purposely onto the running scientists and watched as they all erupted into flames. The entire colony was in ruins, and for a moment he wondered if some of those on the Prime's list had fallen under his mindless assault. Oh well, it didn't matter anyway. He did manage to obtain two of the listed scientists and there were no survivors and, therefore, no witnesses. Arsenal leapt down from the abandoned buildings and landed with a loud clank next to the two unconscious victims.

Suddenly, he was struck by a small bullet-like beam that landed on his side. It caused very little damage, but the object stuck onto him. Being out of his forearm reach, he could not remove it. With a growl, he turned to face his surprise attacker. There, standing right next to the building as if waiting for him, was Twilight.

When she first had seen him, he was but a silhouette firing missiles into the sky. Yet now, as he looked upon her with shock and hatred, she recognized the burning crimson eyes…

_It was the same monster that had attacked Duero!_

It was the same monster that had killed her brother!

He did not seem to recognize her. He wouldn't. He had never met her and yet had made such a powerful and terrible impact on her life! She suddenly hated him. Hated him with all of the strength that her body could muster. Here, is where his reign of terror would end. Even if it ended with her death.

"It's over."

Upon hearing her heroic words, Arsenal threw his head back and laughed. His massive jaws opened wide and it looked more like a roar than anything else. Finally, he lowered his head and rested his fiery gaze upon her. "Do you think I am that easy to conquer? This is not the first time I have ever been challenged, and you don't even have a weapon. Yet, you think you can defeat me?"

"I don't have to defeat you physically," his adversary suddenly stated.

Looking at her for a moment, the monstrosity's eyes flickered, as if curious. "This will be interesting. Entertain me."

Never had Arsenal had a worthy opponent. Yet, at the same time, he never really strived to find anyone of his caliber - he had simply decided that no other would ever be as powerful as him. He was invincible.

So to see one as puny and defenseless as this pearl femme challenging _him_ was very entertaining! He simply _had_ to see what she planned to do…

Twilight took a step back, despite her surprisingly calm outward appearance, she was internally terrified. Her high of anger and rage had quickly dissipated, yet she was still left with the determination to stop this horrible wretch from hurting anyone else. Although she had decided to give her life if she had to, it certainly wasn't something she _wanted_ to do. If there was any way to survive this, she hoped to find it. Unfortunately, looking into the burning, hateful eyes of her enemy, survival did not appear to be the likely outcome.

"I will let you have the first attack, just as amusement…" the monster stated softly. Suddenly, his voice tinged with sadistic pleasure. "…_then_ I will kill you."

Her optics rested on the small object she managed to plant onto the monster's side. She had no real weapons, her only option was to activate her special ability.

Trying to still her internal mechanics as death lingered before her, Twilight transformed.

Arsenal tilted his head slightly as his adversary's limbs and body began to change into her alternate form. He wasn't by any means surprised that she had the ability, as all Cybertronians including himself had it. Yet, in his mighty opinion, most alternate forms were varying stages of useless. What in the world could she turn into that she would figure herself a stronger threat?

As she transformed, he found himself incredibly unimpressed. She was…an airwave transmitter?* Cream color in appearance and fairly small compared to most transmitters, the femme looked un-intimidating, even comical.

The monstrosity didn't know whether to laugh at her pathetic attempt at heroics, or feel insulted that she somehow believed that she could defeat him in such a useless alternate mode. He decided on the former. Yet, the laughter died in his throat and erupted into a strangled cry as Twilight's special ability automatically activated.

The radars of anyone within a ten mile radius suddenly became hypersensitive, picking up Arsenal's presence almost immediately. Having a stealth internal system programmed into him from the beginning of his creation, the monstrosity never had to worry about anyone being able to lock on him through any means other than direct optical vision. The secret to his successful attacks had been the element of surprise compounded with the fact that no one knew who or what was attacking them until it was too late. As long as he himself kept out of sight, it was incredibly difficult to locate him, and even more so to track him. It had allowed him to properly maintain his status as the Autobot's secret weapon.

Now, standing before his pathetic adversary, for the first time Arsenal felt terrifyingly aware of his own presence. Suddenly, he could almost feel the world's eyes upon him, and it frightened him. Panic overtaking his senses, he rushed forward and rammed into the airwave transmitter, breaking the signal and sending her crashing onto the floor. She immediately transformed in order to break the fall. Although her ability had been active a mere few seconds, it was ample time. Now, anyone who might have survived would know.

They will know that it was Arsenal, not the Decepticons, who had attacked all of those colonies.

If they are granted the time to do more research, they may even be able to link him to the Autobots.

His life and status would be ruined.

Twilight scrambled onto her feet as quickly as her wrecked body would allow. Her antagonist was incredibly strong, and she was already wounded. The fierce blow had done nothing to improve her condition. Arsenal stepped back and unleashed a torrent of blasts from shoulder-mounted guns. Paralyzed by a mixture of fear and exhaustion, the femme could only cover her face with her arms and curl up in a semi-fetal position. She cried out as the blasts connected all around her. The multiple impacts sent her skidding several feet back.

Suddenly, the rain of blasts ceased, and curiosity compelled her to lower her arms. Arsenal stood a short distance away, his eyes burning with uncontained ferocity.

"You will pay for your insolence! You dare to think that your actions could stop me?! I am invincible!" the monstrosity roared. With that said, the massive canons on his back prepared to take aim. The distance between Arsenal and his victim was just enough to allow him to use his missiles. Twilight tried to run away, tried to do something, anything, to stop what appeared to be inevitable. Yet, terror held her still. She could only watch as the missiles prepared to launch.

Arsenal watched gleefully as the wretch before him cowered in fear. His burning optics yearned to see the wrecked remains, his audio systems strained to hear the inevitable scream of death. He grinned inwardly as his missiles locked on. Suddenly, his thoughts were scattered as internal scanners picked up an intruder. It was too late. Before he could turn to meet his new adversary, a series of shots nailed him on his left side. The shoulder-mounted gun, overheated by use and damaged by the series of blasts, exploded. The impact knocked the monstrosity onto his right side. Arsenal lifted his head to see a badly damaged Soundwave half-kneeling several feet away. A thin line of smoke erupted from his shoulder-mounted canon.

How in the world could an injured neutral robot sneak up on him so successfully?! The haze of rage and arrogance had made him blind. Now, noticing the injured Wheeljack and Kickback stirring out of the corner of his optic, fear gripped the rogue Autobot as realization dawned on him. His mission had been a failure. Rage threatened to overwhelm him, and for a moment he considered killing all of them. If he could get away, and unleash his missiles upon them, no one would ever live to see his failure.

_Arsenal._ The monster's inner mechanics whirled as he faintly heard Jazz through the communicator. _Return to base immediately._

"I'm not done with them yet!" Arsenal cried. He pushed himself onto his feet. "There is still time!"

_Sorry, man. I feel for you, I really do. But Prime's got direct orders for you to come back to base right now. _Jazz replied.

The monstrosity's eyes blazed, every ounce of his being wanting to drive all of his missiles into all who dared to cross him. He wanted to torture and kill all those who dared to humiliate him. Yet, he was compelled to comply. Casting one last glare at his damaged antagonists, Arsenal retreated…

Twilight watched the monster's retreat with a mixture of anger, shock and relief. She wanted to chase him, to stop him and make sure that he would never again harm another. Yet, at the same time, she felt enormously surprised and ultimately relieved that Soundwave was there. Not only had she saved him, he in turn had saved her. Together, they had _won_. She had helped to defeat the one who had destroyed her home, her brethren, her life.

It was when her internal mechanics slowed down that she felt the severity of her injuries. Her body was wrecked, her energon levels were far below recommended levels. Twilight had, literally, up to this point been running on nothing other than sheer determination and an iron will that she didn't even know she possessed. But now the fight was over, and she had nothing else to give. The femme barely had enough time to smile weakly at her companion and raise two fingers in victory before her systems failed and she collapsed to the hard, tainted floor.

__

* - It's like a restaurant, except that it only serves energon. 

*millicycle - minute.

*airwave transmitter - The Cyberton equivalent of a space satellite.

Author's Notes - Sorry it took me so long to complete this chapter. I have had, literally, little to no free time this past few weeks. Between work, doing artwork for various contests, and my pathetic attempts at a social life, I have found very little extra time. Hopefully, this chapter was worth the wait. I did want to spend a little more time and focus on Arsenal, since the previous chapters only touched upon him. I hope I did manage to make my villainous original character to be interesting and not overly 'MarySue-ish'. Same thing goes with Twilight. I wanted to give her a power that was strong, but also went with her personality. Since she is a Mary Sue (hence the fanfic challenge), her personality must be similar to my own. I am not an argumentative, fighting type of person, so neither should she. So I decided to give her a power that enhances the stats of others, instead of herself. It would allow her to stay on the sidelines instead of rushing into combat, just as she (and I if I was in her position), would prefer. Twilight's alternate transformation is a space satellite. It's not supposed to be cool or overly useful (Mary Sue's are generally 'influenced' by the canon character that she is supposed to hook up with. Since Soundwave's alternate form isn't overly useful in combat situations, I decided to make Twilight the same way.) Arsenal's transformation has not yet been revealed. But it will be, soon. Very soon. insert evil laughter Anyways, hope you liked the chapter and that it was worth the wait.


	6. Retribution

Dark Tides Saga

Chapter 6 - Retribution

_Anger. Hate. Rage._

Fear. Cowardice. Envy.

Invincible. Indestructible. Undefeatable.

_Retribution will be mine._

Slowly, Twilight's internal mechanics systematically re-activated. First, her audio sensors, which detected the whirling of machines and the motion of others walking nearby. The sounds frightened her, she couldn't tell where she was. Secondly, her perception circuits came online and she could feel the table underneath her. That, and the fact that no pain returned with her reactivated senses brought her a great deal of comfort. She was most likely in some kind of medical area. Finally, the rest of her functions returned and she looked around. The scene reinforced her assumption, she was in a large repair center. One of the medical robots turned to look at her with a bright smile.

"Hey, finally one of you awakes!" It was Kickback, one of the neutral scientists that Arsenal had tried to capture! Twilight returned the gesture with a grin of excitement. They really did win! Suddenly, her excitement was gone as soon as it had arrived.

"One of us?" The femme glanced around, her optics finally resting on a nearby medical table. There Soundwave laid, he looked in relatively good condition and even his arm had been rebuilt and reattached. "Soundwave!"

"After you collapsed, he fell soon after," Kickback explained. "Fortunately, our neighboring colony, Kohl, must have seen some of the fireworks or heard something about the attack. Because, before we knew it, the medical team and soldiers were swarming the place. After we arrived, I noticed that the medical staff was so small here and I was so grateful for their help that I immediately offered my services here."

The femme was both surprised and baffled by the information. Kohl is one of the only colonies that is run by the Decepticons…

Now wasn't the time to worry about it. She tried to push herself into an upright position, but after a moment slumped back down.

Kickback shook his head vigorously. "Try not to move. We finished repairs on both you and Sounder, but this colony is very low on energon reserves and was only able to donate enough to keep the two of you alive-ah, finally the other awakes!"

Twilight looked back over at Soundwave to see his visor brighten. Her inner mechanics whirled in excitement. "Soundie!"

The navy blue robot rested his optics on her, his expression unreadable as always. 

Kickback coughed lightly. "Well, I'll leave you two alone then. We have a few Decepticons coming in soon that have been injured in the energon mines."

With that said, the slender android immediately departed.

"Soundwave…I," Twilight began. "I'm sorry about the psychic thing…I mean, I shouldn't have reacted that way and I feel really bad about it."

"Do not angst. Reaction was expected," he replied in his usual monotone.

"That doesn't make it right though…" she continued. "I was just worried that, well, you know, you had read my mind or something…"

"I have, once," he replied. A cold chill formed at the pit of the femme's digestive system.

"Wh-what?! What d-did you see?!!" the femme cried.

Soundwave shook his head. "Ability used only when absolutely necessary. During attack, when you departed to fight enemy, scanning was essential to find your location. You were injured. Battle with the enemy alone would likely have resulted in destruction. I…couldn't allow it."

Twilight gasped softly. During the entire time that she had known him, he could have easily used his psychic skills at any time. The one time he chose to use it was because he had worried for her safety. "Thank you-oh, your project! Is it ok?!"

She knew how much his creation meant to him…if it was damaged or destroyed because of her…guilt wracked her just thinking about it.

Soundwave raised his hand back and pressed the eject button on his shoulder. In response, his chest compartment opened up. He then reached in and pulled the project out, lifting his head to gaze upon it. "Damage mild. Delay upon completely only a few hours at most."

The femme sighed in relief, her gaiety immediately returning. "We kicked that monster's platinum butt didn't we?!"

He looked back her, his visor brightening. "Affirmative. Attempt to kick platinum butt successful..."

_I'm sorry, Arsenal._

Your efforts have been admirable.

_Your skills have done well for us._

_But now you have been discovered._

_We must let you go, any and all records of you must be destroyed._

How dare he. To think that, after everything he had done for them, that the Autobots could simply discard him so easily?! If Prime somehow believed that he would simply walk away and fade out of existence then he was a greater fool than even Arsenal had perceived. Although he was obviously better, stronger and more capable than any and all of the other Autobots, he had been compelled by sheer loyalty to put up with them. Now that they had decided to 'let him go,' there was nothing to stop him from unleashing his contained rage upon _them_!

However, one thought had stopped him from ripping the _great_ Optimus Prime limb from mechanical limb at the spot. It was the knowledge that, although he was a one robot army, he was still _one_ robot. He did have the element of surprise in his clawed hands, since only the highest order of Autobots were even aware of his existence. Yet, at the end, he decided that it would be wise to save that element for a better opportunity. So with a great bow of his massive head and a croak of an apology, Arsenal retreated from Prime's chambers and disappeared into the shadows…

Upon watching the monster's departure, Optimus Prime closed his optics with a weary sigh.

Rarely would the Autobots 'let go' of anyone. If they were too dangerous or untrustworthy to keep around, they were simply destroyed. 

So why…why did the counsel wish to keep him alive?! Now, on a whim Arsenal could run his mouth off to anyone who would listen and reveal that it was the Autobots, not Decepticons, who employed him. Or worse, he could join the Decepticons and use his abilities against them. 

_Do not worry, Prime, _they had told him, _he's such a chaotic and mentally challenged robot that he's likely incapable of doing anything without specific orders._

Were they blind?!

_Even if he does tell anyone, no one would believe him. All of his records are already destroyed. And after all of the trauma he caused the Decepticons, they would never trust him. More than likely, they would kill him._

Idiots. All of them.

When Optimus had been newly recruited so long ago, he had been told that only the 'leader' of the Autobots made the decisions. He was not the only misinformed robot. Most Autobots were not aware that there was any counsel at all. There were many things that the hierarchy kept secret from the soldiers who served them.

Although Prime disagreed strongly with the counsel's decision, he did not wish to defy them openly and risk losing the rank he had worked so hard to obtain. With that in mind, he had ordered one of his oldest and most trusted soldiers, Bumblebee, to follow Arsenal and record everything that he does. The little yellow robot was often disregarded by his superiors, as his combat skills were far below average. However, his loyalty, perseverance and small size made him an excellent spy. If Bumblebee reported but one act of suspicion, Prime decided that he would go and destroy the monster himself.

"I bet this entire thing's a set up!" Thundercracker sighed wearily as Wheeljack continued his unrelenting verbal onslaught. "I know it is! You guys come so conveniently right after the attack to 'save' us! I can see right through your lies!"

"Listen, for the last time," The Decepticon snapped. "Skywarp and I were doing aerial patrol when we saw the smoke coming from your colony. We checked on it and saw that it was under attack. So we called in our soldiers and came to help. Who are you to scrutinize us anyway? Our arrival just might have saved your pathetic lives!"

"You know what I think?!" the neutral scientist growled.

"I don't want to know what you think-"

"I think that this entire thing was a set up! You attacked us, then decided to 'save' the few of us that lived! Of course, we would be so grateful for your 'bravery' that we would join you!" Wheeljack finished.

"Do you think that we would waste our time and energon for something like this?!" Thundercracker yelled, his patience long ago worn thin. "Look around, does it look like we have that much energon to spare?! We don't even have enough for our own soldiers!"

"Wheeljack, for Primus's sake, back off!" Kickback cried, exiting the medical room and entering the energon recharge bays. The two turned to regard him.

"And you--you and Bombshell play right into their game!" the neutral scientist roared, his fists shaking with rage. "You two joined them without a second thought!"

"They saved our lives! Don't you think that maybe, just maybe they're not the ones who destroyed all of those colonies?!" Kickback shot back.

"No, I don't. You know why? Because I have yet to see anything that proves me wrong!" Wheeljack shook his head. "I'm outta here."

With that, he departed.

They will pay.

How dearly will they all pay.

Soon, the ones who had ruined him will be sorry they ever crossed him.

Starting with Soundwave, Twilight…

…and that pathetic excuse for an Autobot spy that dared to believe Arsenal couldn't detect him…

_Retribution will be mine!_

Author's Notes - Sorry this took me so long to write. When I moved into the dorm, I discovered that my school's network was overrun with those worms and was shut down. I had to get my computer tested and 'vaccinated'. (Mine never had the worm, but they added something to it so that mine can't get the worm now.) But the internet still won't be open for atleast another week, so I had to come back home and send it out that way. Hope you liked it, and that it was worth the wait! =D


	7. A New Life is Born

Dark Tides Saga

Ch 7 - A New Life is Born

Twilight sat behind Soundwave on a large, bench-like structure. Her head rested tiredly on his back, between his broad shoulders. Exhaustion lingered with her as well as almost all inhabitants of Kohl who were not part of the Decepticon army. The only energon mine that fueled Kohl had been virtually destroyed in a terrible accident that left many dead and many more wounded. As a result, the Decepticons were forced to preserve what little energy remained until Epsilon, their main base, could deliver more. 

"It should take three days," they had told her. Three days felt like an eternity. Constantly tired, most of her systems deactivated or running on conservation mode, Twilight quickly grew weary of the consistent exhaustion. She had to commend Soundwave, who not only took the weakness with stride, but also focused what little vitality he managed to preserve on his precious creation.

The femme glanced over his shoulder wearily at the 'project.' By the looks of it, he was almost complete. The outer body shell was unlike anything she had ever seen. Small, sleek and slender, the color scheme ebony, with ruby eyes, just like his father's.

A giggle compelled Soundwave to look over his shoulder quizzically. His dimly flickering gaze indicated confusion, which only made her giggle more. "Do you know what you're going to name him?"

He turned his attention back to his creation and continued his work. "Negative."

"Hmm…" Twilight laid her head on his back again. "How about…Lil' Soundie?"

"Negative. Insufficient," The blue robot answered monotonously. 

"Um…how about…" a yawn suddenly overtook her, as lack of energon made her more fatigued.

"Negative. Pronunciation overly complicated," Twilight turned her head slightly, confused at his statement. Suddenly, realizing that he referred to her yawn as her name suggestion, laughed uncontrollably. Soundwave turned his head, not understanding what it was that she found so funny. The quizzical flicker in his optics only made her laugh harder. With a shrug, he turned his attention back to his creation. "…His name will be Ravage."

He said nothing more, and it became apparent that he had no intention of explaining why he had chosen the name. Knowing him as long as she did, Twilight no longer expected explanations. After a moment she was able to squelch her laughter and rested her head on his back with a final yawn. "That's a nice name."

If he had any intentions of saying anything more, his opportunity was quickly lost. The lack of energon finally overwhelmed her and she fell asleep…

"Lord Megatron?" Thundercracker and Skywarp straightened up from their slouched stances at the main entrance of Kohl. Lack of energon had worn their systems down to the point that daily scouting was out of the question and for the meanwhile they were reduced to guards. Neither of them had heard any news of their high lord's coming.

The warlord shook his head casually. "'Lord' is only for those who need to be constantly reminded of their power. Just Megatron will do. I heard you two were the ones who discovered the attacks on Terikon?"

The two aerial robots glanced at each other, then nodded at their commander.

"Good work, both of you. I've brought some soldiers and what little energon we could carry until Epsilon can deliver the rest," Megatron stated, nodding to both soldiers before walking in. A couple of other high-ranking soldiers landed nearby and too walked in. One stopped to look at the duo.

"Hmm…I could use two aerial soldiers like you," the second in command said as he looked the two over. "You can never find enough good help in this day and age. Keep up the good work and you just may qualify for the job."

"Yes, commander Starscream!" Skywarp answered.

"Thank you, commander Starscream," Thundercracker added.

The two aerial robots waited for their superiors to enter the colony before giving each other a resounding high-five…

Twilight awoke to find herself leaning heavily, almost completely on her back. Pushing herself into a sitting position, she turned to find that Soundwave's systems had finally given in due to lack of energon. He was asleep, his arms folded protectively around his creation and his head resting upon them. She found the gesture incredibly cute, as if she had stumbled upon a gentle and fatherly side of Soundwave that few others would ever see. The moment was quickly gone, however, when the door opened abruptly. Soundwave's sensitive hearing, muted only faintly by the lack of energon, immediately picked up the noise and his head raised up to regard the intruder. If Soundwave was surprised, he didn't show it. Twilight, on the other hand, was openly shocked to see Megatron, the Decepticon warlord, standing at the door…

Hatred flowed through him even as his own energon supply began to wane. Arsenal, having nothing to fuel him, was forced to find some on his own. What made the process difficult was that he had neither the equipment needed for converting raw energy into the type that he could use nor the access to any energon mines. Any and all mines were controlled by either factions or the neutrals. He, an unregistered (for all of his records must have been destroyed by now) robot of his greatness could never pass off as a mere civilian. His body was not built for anything other than war.

However, all was not lost. There was one trick he still had up his titanium sleeve.

His one hope laid on the shoulders of the Autobot spy.

"Megatron?!" Twilight couldn't hide her surprise. The silver robot nodded to her, finally fixing his gaze on her companion.

"Greetings Twilight, Soundwave." Megatron said, surprisingly polite. "You two must be low on energon. Here."

In his massive grasp, he held a large storage container of energon. It was very difficult to store energon, as it was highly explosive in it's purest form. Therefore it was generally kept in massive containers and shared amongst the Cybertronians.

Twilight took her share almost greedily, her hunger intensified by the sweet smell of the energon her body lacked so severely. She almost had to force herself to stop, so that Soundwave could have the rest. Ripping herself away from the sweet container of energon, she passed it to her companion. The dark blue robot took his share with the same air of nonchalance that always hung about him. Twilight watched him in quiet awe. His endless discipline never ceased to amaze her.

As Soundwave handed Megatron the container, the Decepticon warlord's persimmon optics rested upon the project. "What's this?"

The azure robot quickly shifted closer to his almost completed creation. "A project. Upon completion will be a sentient being capable of its own thoughts and emotional processes."

"You do know that something like this has only been constructed by teams of scientists, never one solitary Cybertronian?" Megatron asked.

Twilight stood silently, her soft gaze shifting between the two males. If the words affected Soundwave in any way, he didn't show it. "Correction, _had_ only been accomplished by teams of scientists. My attempt will be successful."

The warlord looked into the eyes of the neutral scientist, finally his titanium lips widened in a genuine smile. 

"I like your way of thinking, Soundwave. Your mix of ambition, discipline and enthusiasm is a rare and refreshing find." Megatron reached forward and rested one hand upon the smaller robot's shoulder. "I want you to know that if you wish to join us, our door is always open. To you as well, Twilight. Good evening."

With that said, the commander turned on his platinum heel and walked out of the door.The two stood in silence as Megatron departed. Twilight had to admit, it was quite risky for the Decepticon warlord to be here. With such an energon shortage, if Kohl was to be attacked he would be in great risk of destruction. Either he was incredibly arrogant, or he was willing to take that risk to ease the worries of his weakened subordinates. She had to admit, she was impressed by his courage and concern for his troops, and even more so for his concern for the neutral victims. Perhaps…her prejudices had been unfounded.

"Do you think…" the femme stated softly, once Megatron had left the room. "Do…you think that the Decepticons didn't do all of those attacks after all…?"

Soundwave turned his gaze to her. "Affirmative. They are not the cause."

"I wish I was as certain as you are, Soundie…" Twilight whispered. "I…honestly, I don't know what to believe."

A sudden touch on her shoulder immediately snapped her from her thoughts. She looked up to see Soundwave standing so very close to her, one of his massive hands resting on her shoulder.

"Do not angst. Keep your mind open. The secrets of the universe reveal themselves to those who listen," He stated, his normally monotonous voice holding a slight tinge…of what, she couldn't determine. At that moment, she realized just _how_ close they were. One hand rested on her shoulder, the other hung by his side…so close to her unused hand. His crimson optics locked onto hers. Seconds felt like moments, like hours, like an eternity. Suddenly Soundwave released his hold and the eternity was lost, like a faded dream. "Completion of my project is essential…"

"Yeah…" Twilight breathed, watching him as he returned to his place on the bench. "…essential…"

Thundercracker and Skywarp were sitting in the recharge bay, sipping from a shared container of energon in their lackluster attempt to preserve as much of it as possible. It would be awhile until their next.

Sitting across from them in another recharge bay were Bombshell and Kickback, also sharing a container of energon.

"Did you hear the latest?" Skywarp suddenly asked, his optics darting to each of his companions. "Supposedly the Autobots have been kidnapping neutrals and using some kind of mind control on them."

"Really?" Kickback asked.

Thundercracker nodded, "It's pretty twisted."

"How do you know?" Bombshell inquired.

Twilight walked into the room, wanting to give Soundwave a little time to himself to concentrate on his project. "Hey…"

"What's wrong with you?" Kickback asked as he glanced over at her. "You look a bit flustered."

The femme quickly shook her head. "Uh, me? Oh, no not at all! What were you guys talking about?"

"The 'Bots are brainwashing neutrals," Kickback re-capped.

"What?!" Twilight sat down next to him and Bombshell. The thought of it sickened her. Could the Autobots really do something like that?

"Well, we don't have any physical evidence yet," Skywarp stated. "But there have been reports of neutrals suddenly siding with the Autobots."

"According to friends and acquaintances, some of these neutrals had never expressed any previous desire to join the Autobots. An even crazier fact is that these neutrals have a couple things in common. One is that they all came from destroyed colonies. Another is that their general attitude and behavior after joining the Autobots had changed dramatically. Finally, no matter what color their optics were, as soon as they joined the Autobots their optics turned gold," Thundercracker added.

"Gold?" Twilight echoed. Kickback and Bombshell glanced at each other. Gold was not a regular eye color.

The ebony aerial robot nodded. "An Autobot insignia is one thing, eyes suddenly turning gold's another. With all of that other stuff to go with it… We think something screwy's goin' on there."

"Well…" Bombshell leaned back and gazed up at the ceiling. Twilight looked over at him. "Mind control is certainly not impossible. The question is, what use would the 'Bots have for mindless scientists? Apparently they've found a way to control them while allowing them enough of their own mind and logic as to not hinder their work."

"Bombshell, you're specialized in all that neurotechnology stuff," Kickback said casually. He too leaned back. "Maybe you can figure it all out."

"Yeah…" Bombshell said wistfully as he turned his gaze to his friend. "Maybe I can…"

Arsenal was impressed.

So…all of the scientists that escaped from his wrath found their way to the small Decepticon base, Kohl.

Optimus Prime's plan to attack the small base, re-capture those scientists and destroy any and all witnesses was quite brilliant.

Perching on a small, partially demolished building within the wreckage of a small colony he had destroyed years prior, Arsenal enjoyed his much-needed energon recharge.

"You do good work, my new servant," the monstrosity said casually to the mindless Bumblebee. His evil gaze lingered on the small mind control device planted on the back of the small robot's neck. It had been a mere prototype back when he stole it from the Autobots months before. But with a little tweaking here and there, it worked fairly well. Unfortunately, while the chip was activated Bumblebee had virtually no mind of his own, but he had no use for willful subjects anyhow. Now, he could use the golden android to keep the Prime off his back, as well as bring back information for him. The Autobot spy was now going to be _his_ spy, and the wreckage he now stood upon will be the foundation for his new army.

Decepticons, Autobots and Neutrals alike will regret the day they crossed him.

Arsenal threw back his head and laughed, his hideous roar echoing into the starlit sky…

Twilight sat silently on the bench next to the feverishly working Soundwave, her mind wracked with turmoil.

__

Could the Autobots really do something like this? Were they really capable of such terrible things? Could the Decepticons be lying? What if they weren't?!

_What if…all of her previous thoughts about the Decepticons were mistaken?! Perhaps, she was wrong to judge them so quickly…_

Yet, at the same time, this war was going to cause nothing but death and destruction. Neither the Autobots nor the Decepticons were innocent in this world's pending doom. …However…could the Decepticons be the lesser of the two evils?

On the other hand…what if they were_ lying? What if this whole thing was a ruse to get her and Soundwave to join their side?_

…but Soundwave seemed to believe in them. He must have had a good reason for his beliefs. Perhaps he knew of their truthfulness because of his telepathy? Yet, what if the Decepticons somehow knew of his abilities and were playing both of them for fools?

What if…

"Complete!"

Twilight was ripped from her thoughts by a surprising cry from Soundwave. She immediately jumped up, glancing around the room like a frightened animal.

"What happened?! What's wrong?!" The femme cried. For Soundwave to show any kind of emotion, she assumed something terrible must have occurred.

"Ravage is complete!" Twilight turned to see her companion standing up, hovering over his newly constructed creature with an aura of pride and excitement. Realizing what he meant, she rushed to his side and hugged him around the waist.

"That's wonderful!" she cried. Surprisingly, he returned the gesture.

"Ravage is not yet activated. All mechanisms checked and re-checked. He is complete." He released his hold and laid one hand on the small creature's back. With a small flicker of his telepathic abilities, he mentally activated Ravage's internal processors. The little creature's ruby eyes suddenly lit up and he raised his head. Twilight stepped back as the two looked at each other, wanting to give them both space. She could barely contain her excitement, yet at the same time she was practically frozen as she watched the two interact.

The small robot slowly pushed himself onto his feet, looking around the room with open curiosity. Finally, his ruby gaze met his creator's. Soundwave withdrew his hand from Ravage's back and rested it tenderly on his head.

His usual monotone was tinged with a softness that Twilight had never imagined capable of him. "Welcome, Ravage. Welcome to Cybertron."

Author's Notes - This chapter was fairly difficult, yet at the same time seemed to write itself at parts. I wanted to make Soundwave seem a bit more open and friendly towards Twilight, yet at the same time retain the aloofness he was known for. I'm not sure if Soundwave's excited response to Ravage's completion could be considered out of character. At the same time, Ravage is his very first successful attempt at creating a sentient being. I would think that even one as stoic as he would be pretty excited. I also wanted to have him act a bit more maternal towards Ravage, especially towards the completion of his creation. Since he is both mother and father to Ravage, and Ravage is right now the only 'child' he has, I would imagine Soundwave to be a bit more protective and parental at this point than he is in the show, where he has a little army of 'children.' I hope you liked this chapter, and that I've managed to build the suspense with the Autobot gossip, the building sexual-esque tension between Soundwave and Twilight, Arsenal lingering in the background and Twilight's internal turmoil.


	8. Destruction

Dark Tides Saga

Chapter 8

Destruction

Watching the interaction between Soundwave and his new creation was almost magical, at least through Twilight's eyes. Ravage brought out such a uncharacteristically warm and gentle side of the normally aloof robot. The offspring was initially shy and intimidated in such a vast world, but through tender coaxing on the part of his parent explored the base and its inhabitants with increased curiosity. Megatron was impressed and endeared by the little guy, and renewed his offer for Soundwave, Twilight and the newly built Ravage into his ranks. Bombshell and Kickback were increasingly fascinated. After a long day of exploring and meeting the people who Ravage would later identify as friends, Soundwave figured that this was enough for the little creature for the night.

"Ravage, transform to alternate mode," the little robot looked up at his father. After a moment, he complied and appeared to fold into himself with the end result being a rectangle. Twilight glanced over at Soundwave with confusion.

"What's that?" she asked. The blue Cybertronian lifted the small creature up and opened his chest compartment.

"Alternate mode design provides security," Soundwave answered as he inserted Ravage into his chest cavity and closed it.

Twilight watched with uncontained fascination. Afterwards, she embraced him. "I knew you could do it, Soundie."

He returned the motion with one arm. She could feel his exhaustion through the weakness of his gesture. It was apparent that he had given Ravage most of, if not all of his share of the limited energon. Twilight felt a small pang of guilt, as she had consumed her entire share without a single thought. When so low on fuel, the only thing on her mind was the want to refill her reserves. How in the world could he be so disciplined with such little strength?

Perhaps that was what made someone as unemotional as him such great parental material.

"You should rest, Soundie. Save your strength... When Ravage feels ready to explore again he's going to need you at your best." Twilight murmured.

"...advice acknowledged...and accepted," He finished his answer with a long hum of his vocals, signifying a yawn. The sound made her giggle. Removing his arm from around her, he rested his fingertips on the side of her face. Surprised, and a bit shy at the sudden affectionate gesture, she only stared at him with slightly widened optics. After a few seconds he lowered his hand and walked off.

She could only watch him leave, placing her hand on her face where he had touched her.

Standing amongst the foundation for his new empire, Arsenal watched in glee as his new slaves Huffer, Tracks and Cliffjumper mindlessly constructed his fortress. It was coming together very slowly, as the power of three weak Autobots was not nearly enough to put together something so massive in any record time. But that was alright. Despite his occasional bouts of eagerness, whenever necessary he could be surprisingly patient. If his army and power grew too rapidly, he would draw unwanted attention. As far as most robots knew, Arsenal was either dead or simply didn't exist. 

Both were fine by him. 

The monstrosity's crimson optics brightened into a smile as he gazed up into the dark skies. At this very moment, Bumblebee must be with the Autobots, who were making their way to Kohl for the attack. Soon his slave would return with the results of the fight...and perhaps more slaves for his cause.

All inhabitants of Cybertron will soon find out what a horrible mistake they had made by crossing him...

With a sigh of exhaustion, Twilight slumped down on one of the recharge bays. Her strength was waning. Thankfully, the shipment of energon should be arriving today. Now she and the others won't be wandering the halls like zombies anymore.

Glancing over at the recharge bay next to her, she saw Soundwave. His visor was dark and one of his large, azure hands rested on his chest plate.

Where Ravage slept.

A smile softened the femme's features.

Suddenly, the ground shook so violently that she was nearly thrown off of the table on which she was laying. Soundwave's visor immediately brightened, as he was always a light sleeper.

The two looked at each other, but before either could say anything, another tremor shook the ground with increased intensity.

After it ended, Twilight rolled off of her recharge bay as Soundwave sat up. It was then Bombshell abruptly popped his head through the door. His optics were burning with apprehension.

The words he uttered made the energon in the femme's systems run cold.

"We're under attack!"

With the massive energon shortage, Kohl didn't stand a chance against the colossal strength of the Autobot attackers. From their place inside of the base, Twilight and Soundwave, along with other physically disadvantaged scientists, could only watch through the window as the Decepticon soldiers tired valiantly to defend their home from the assault. She noticed, with a tinge of surprise and admiration, that Megatron stood beside his warriors in the front lines. He issued orders and even took on some of their adversaries himself, unwilling to sacrifice even one of his comrades for the sake of his own safety.

Soundwave had been right about him.

She looked over at her companion with worry. The azure robot was standing erect, his crimson gaze never leaving the fight. His fists slowly clenched and unclenched with a sudden and severe malicious intent.

"You...want to fight, don't you?" the femme asked. The question sounded weird in her own mind. The battle against Arsenal proved that the stoic android had the capacity for violence. Still...his mannerisms always indicated a sense of mellowness which rendered it difficult for her to imagine him in that kind of light.

Resting his fingertips on his chest compartment, Soundwave didn't answer her. Inside, he could feel Ravage's fear, could almost hear his unspoken questions. His creation's apprehension angered him more than anything else ever had. Ravage was in danger...and he wasn't about to stand idle and let the Autobot scum anywhere near him!

"Ravage, eject," Reluctantly, the panther-esque robot obeyed. Landing on the floor with surprising grace, he looked up at his creator. To the surprise of any spectator, Soundwave knelt down and placed his massive hand on his offspring's head affectionately. "Operation, conceal from enemy detection. If discovered, retreat." The creature nervously rubbed up against his father's hand and leg. "Soundwave's operation, protection. Return will be imminent."

Ravage stepped back, looking up at him. The older Cybertronian's crimson gaze rested on Twilight, who nodded and with an almost motherly tenderness lifted the little creature.

"Don't get damaged out there," the femme said sternly. Without answering, Soundwave turned around and ran out of the building.

Hiding behind one of the demolished buildings, Megatron and Thundercracker exchanged shots with three of the Autobot enemies. The Decepticon leader's optics continuously darting between his current enemies and the building which held the neutral scientists and his fellow scientifically inclined teammates. He noticed that his comrades which were trying to hold the enemy contained away from the building were having increased trouble.

With a quick click of his comlink, Megatron signaled the neighboring Decepticon colony, Aregol, for help. Unfortunately, that colony was a bit of a distance away and it would take a good half cycle for back-up to show up. A loud thud and clank of metal turned the warlord's attention to Thundercracker, who fell back holding his shoulder. The aerial fighter grimaced and tried to push himself up, but his energon reserves were simply too low to power his limbs any further.

Megatron stifled a growl. The soldiers simply did not have enough energon to put up against such great opposition. It didn't make any sense. Kohl was not even a major Decepticon colony, there were many others far more worthy of such a grand scheme attack. What in the name of Primus would compel them to put so much of an effort against such a small colony?

And...if they wanted to destroy this colony so badly...why did they avoid damage to the main building with such vehemence?

Only one answer came to the warlord's mind.

The scientists.

With limited speed and agility, Soundwave pushed through the door that separated the building that contained the scientists from the battlefield. In the war zone, multiple gunshots and explosions rang through the skies. Before his crimson eyes he could see Skywarp and a handful of other Decepticons defending the building from a slightly larger group of Autobots. As long as the building was protected, Ravage would be safe.

Taking shelter behind one of the smaller buildings, Soundwave took aim and fired from his shoulder-mounted gun. Unfortunately, his determination did not outweigh his lack of combat experience and most of his shots missed or only knicked the enemy robots. Not allowing this to jar his patience, the azure scientist knelt down and, placing one hand on his shoulder canon, carefully took aim at his flying adversaries.

He kept in mind the time between a fired shot and the target, and predicted where his enemy would move to during that time...

He charged his shoulder canon, preparing to fire each laser in the gatling gun simultaneously in one, single shot.

Suddenly, a blow on the back of his head and neck sent the blue android crashing heavily onto the unforgiving Cybetronian soil. With all the strength he could muster, Soundwave tried to push himself back up but the lack of energon in his systems took a grave toll on him. In fact, he could feel what precious little energy he had seep from the blow he had sustained. As his interior mechanics systematically failed, he noticed out of the corner of his blurring optic an Autobot entering the building...

Holding Ravage close, Twilight watched the battle out through the window. Through the glass she could not see Soundwave, as she was located on the side of the building as opposed to the front or back. To her chagrin, she had no means of determining his condition, if he was damaged, or even alive.

The femme shook her head violently, tightening the grip on the little creature. She could not allow her imagination to get carried away. He was sturdy, intelligent and would not be one to make costly mistakes on the battlefield. Plus...there were the other Decepticons who would help him, right?

Twilight glanced over her shoulder to see Bombshell and Kickback arguing with Shrapnel.

"We cannot just stand here! There must be a way we can help!" Bombshell argued.

"I understand-understand," Shrapnel responded. "But remember our concentration of energon is very low-low. We would not last long enough to be of any assistance-assistance..."

An abrupt and loud bang silenced the group. Twilight looked over at the door. Her advanced radar, though weakened by the minute amount of energon in her system, was still sharp enough to detect an Autobot somewhere in the building.

There was no way Soundwave would let anyone sneak in unless...

Her interior mechanics whirled in horror.

"What was that noise?" Kickback asked as he neared the door. "Please let it be a Decepticon..."

"No!" Twilight cried. "It's an Auto-"

The door suddenly swung open and crashed into the wall, tearing off of its hinges with a snap. The three insecticons, Twilight and the other scientists looked at the doorway to see Optimus Prime glaring back at them.

Megatron tried desperately to make his way back to the building, but Thundercracker injuries have left him against the three Autobots virtually alone. Out of the corner of his eye he could see his comrades slowly falling under their enemy's attacks.

This battle was lost.

With a growl of frustration, the warlord grabbed hold of the blue aerial bot's arm and took to the skies. There were only few Aubots that could fly, and by now most of them had been taken out by Starscream and Skywarp. 

As he sped away from the battlefield, the others Decepticons taking suit, he could only watch out in aggravation as their antagonists swarmed the building.

"Well, look what we have here..." Optimus Prime hissed. Kickback swallowed nervously and backed away. Twilight turned her back to the Autobot leader, trying to hide Ravage from his gaze.

Bombshell stepped forward. "So this is how you recruit others to your cause? I must say it's not very charismatic."

A small laugh emitted from the much larger and more intimidating robot. "Sometimes charisma alone simply won't cut it!"

"What do you want with us-us?" Shrapnel asked.

There was no answer.

Twilight watched the exchange from over her shoulder, pressing her titanium lips close to Ravage's audio receptor. In the faintest voice, she whispered. "Remember Soundwave's orders."

With that said, she released him. To her immense relief, he landed soundlessly and merged into the shadows with surprising proficiency.

Suddenly, a swarm of Autobots made their way into the room. The femme noticed a sadistic glint in the persimmon eyes of their commander as his soldiers slammed the scientists into the walls and on the ground with fierce brutality. One of them, a rather small robot with a yellow paintjob, approached Twilight. She quickly rose her arms in defense, but a quick blow landed her on the ground. It was followed by a sudden impact into the back of her neck which sent her systems into shut down. As her vision dimmed, she vaguely noticed the panther-esque robot sneak away undetected. A small smile made its way into her visage even as unconsciousness overtook her.

__

Author's Notes: dodges bullets, bombs, torpedoes and sharp sticks I know! It's been a really, really long time since I last updated, but I wasn't lying when I said that I would never let any of my stories remain unfinished. The reason for my update delay is a mixture of a loss of interest (which I am trying vehemently to restore) as well as an immense amount of college works, be it tests or projects. Fortunately, now that it's all over, I should have more time to work on this and the next chapter should come by much more quickly. Thank you for your patience and I hope that this chapter was worth the long wait.


	9. Darkness

Dark Tides Saga

Chapter 9

Darkness

Darkness.

Everything was darkness.

_Am I dead?_

She could hear her gears whirling, which was both a good sign and bad. Good because she still functioned, bad because her gears weren't supposed to sound like that.

Everlasting darkness.

Where was she?

Why couldn't she see anything?

Detect anything?

Twilight began to panic, a weak, electronic whimper escaping her mechanical lips.

"Be ...calm... Twilight..." Soundwave's monotone had never been such a wonderful sound as it was at that moment.

"S....Soundie...?!" the femme suddenly felt large fingers enclose around her bicep. She started, but quickly relaxed as she figured it was her azure companion who had grabbed her. Afterwards, she could feel the ground sliding slowly beneath her, as if she was being pulled. Twilight reached forward to feel the smooth, metal surface of Soundwave's side. Finally, the always-composed robot finally released his hold. She drew close to his side, finding comfort in his presence in this cold, mysterious place. "W...where are we?"

"Unknown," He answered. The drone of his voice suddenly held a very faint emotional tinge. "Where is Ravage?"

Twilight paused momentarily, trying to remember. "He...I released him and he snuck into the shadows. The Autobots did not see him, as far as I'm aware."

A soft sigh of relief escaped the normally stoic android. The femme shivered, laying her head on Soundwave's shoulder and hugging across his chest...and was startled to feel her hand go -into- his chest cavity. Hearing a quick hiss of pain, Twilight quickly drew her hand back as she realized, to her horror, that her companion's chest had been blown wide open.

Her memory returned to her like a slap in the face.

"S-Soundwave! You're-"

"Do not angst," he responded. It was then she noticed just how _weak_ he sounded, along with it the realization of where they were.

"We're...we're in an Autobot base, aren't we?" Twilight whimpered. Silence was her answer, but it served as confirmation. "We're...going to die here, aren't we...?"

"Do not jump to conclusions," the azure robot answered monotonously.

"How c-can you be s-so calm?!" she stammered, panic threatening to take over once again.

"No better alternative," Soundwave answered. 

"But we could die here! W-we have to do something! We have to get out of here!" Twilight cried, raising her head up, which was all she really had the strength to do.

"Impossible," he answered. "We lack required energy."

"Then what do we do?!" Twilight cried. 

"Nothing can be done now. Best course of action - wait," Soundwave replied calmly. A soft sob emitted from the silver scientist. "...Twilight?"

The femme covered her face in her hands, not with the intent to hide tears (as Cybertronians were incapable of producing them), but with the purpose of stifling the sounds.

"Oh... H-how did this happen?! I don't want to die, Soundwave! And I know you don't either! Oh, Primus..." Twilight cried.

"Twilight..." It was all he could say.

With a whimper the femme lowered her head back down onto his shoulder and rested her forearm on his chest, careful not to touch the hole that had been blown open. She shivered uncontrollably. "What...are they going to do to us...?"

Twilight's perception circuits felt a gentle touch on her back.

"Do not worry. You will not be harmed. I...guarantee."

It was an empty promise. It was impossible for Soundwave to guarantee such a thing. But Twilight chose to believe it, because at that moment it was all she had to cling to.

----

_They took all of the scientists._

Megatron stood amongst the wreckage of his former city, his persimmon eyes resting on the building that he failed to protect.

The warlord clenched his hands into fists with a feral growl. He so despised failure. Not even a single scientist managed to escape, at least as far as he could tell. Primus knows which one of the many Autobot bases they were taken to-

A small growl shocked the Decepticon leader from his thoughts. Megatron turned in the direction of the sound, canon ready incase it was an attacker. Instead, through the shadows cast throughout the room, his persimmon eyes finally picked up a small, slender onyx robot. The creature padded soundlessly out into the light, an android he immediately recognized - Ravage.

----

"W...where ...are we...?" To Twilight's immeasurable relief, another voice suddenly cut through the air. The femme immediately recognized it.

"Bombshell?!" Although it was an immense comfort to hear his voice, it was also offset by apprehension. While she and Soundwave were no longer alone, in her exhaustion her thoughts wandered to dangerous territory. Were they all destined to die in this dark, dark place?

"Twilight...? Damn..." The voice groaned as if he was in the process of pushing himself up to a sitting or standing position. "Looks like... we've gotten ourselves in quite a mess."

"Bombshell...are you ok?" The femme asked worriedly.

"I guess as good as I would be in this situation..." Bombshell's voice murmured. "Kickback seems alright, considering that he's knocked out and everything...Shrapnel?!"

"What?!" Twilight cried, alarmed at the worried tone in her friend's voice.

"Oh...he looks bad," He said mournfully.

"I...I-I can't see.." Twilight tried to push herself up, but felt Soundwave gently but firmly pull her back down.

"Save strength," Soundwave ordered, hugging her tightly with one arm.

"Ohh, Shrapnel...can you hear me, pal?" Bombshell's voice sounded somber.

"C-Can you see?!" the femme cried, now beginning to wonder if the room was dark, or if she was indeed blind.

"Affirmative. Do not angst-" The azure scientist hastily added as Twilight began to squirm nervously. "Lack of energy forced visual system shut down. It is temporary."

"How's Shrapnel...? Soundwave? H-How is he...I can't see..." the femme stammered.

"Cannot be determined," was his response.

A sudden, electronic groan emitted from the darkness. "B-b-b-Bomb-Bombshell-shell?"

"Shrapnel!" Bombshell's voice sounded happy, although the fact that Shrapnel was alive did little to increase any of their chances of survival. At least, in a very small sense, they achieved one victory.

Twilight lifted her head weakly. "Is ...he alright?"

"Not really...but he's alive and that's all that counts," His tone was soft.

"Bombshell.... How are we...going to get out of here...?" the femme asked.

There was a long pause. "I don't know, Twilight... Haven't figured that one out yet."

"What're they going to do...?" She whispered, growing increasingly tired. It was becoming gradually difficult to talk, or think coherently.

"Conserve energy, Twilight," Soundwave droned. "Shutdown is suggested."

"I'm scared..." the femme murmured, laying her head back down limply on her companion's shoulder. "I don't...know what's going to happen..."

"Do not panic," He stated. "Nothing will happen to you."

Her sightless optics darkened. "You...promise..?"

There was a long pause. "...Affirmative. Promise."

----

So the Autobots managed to storm the Decepticon base and capture those scientists, after all.

The neutral Cybertronians - Soundwave and Twilight - the ones who caused his ruin - were amongst those captured.

He now had a large portion of the Autobot's weaker soldiers in his ranks, and even one Decepticon. The war having absorbed both of their hierarchy's attention, they paid little heed to the workings of their lower ranked soldiers.

Excellent.

His plan was going along perfectly.

The pearl femme slowly woke up to find herself once again staring into darkness. Only this time, she couldn't feel Soundwave beside her. She reached forward blindly, her hand only touching emptiness. Was she even in the same room?!

"S-Soundie?!" she whimpered. "B-Bombshell?! Kickback!?! Shrapnel?!!!"

The only answer she got was silence. She still felt so very tired, as if it took all of her waning strength simply to keep her most important systems functioning.

"Soundwave?!" the femme cried. "Soundwave!!"

Where was he?

What if he was dead?!

_...What if she was dead?!_

"Be still!" a foreign voice snapped. She shivered at the sound.

"Wh-who's there?!" the femme cried.

"That's none of your concern!" The tone was harsh, unfamiliar. She felt a wire connect to her back and she squirmed nervously.

"What are you d-doing?!"

"No more questions!" he snarled. Suddenly, she felt dizzy. Her head lowered back down and her hand limply dropped down to the cold surface she laid on.

----

Flying through the air, Megatron, Starscream, Skywarp, Thundercracker and the Constructicons headed towards Bekton, the Autobot base that housed most of their scientists and secret projects. It was a heavily guarded terrain, and the group took great heeds to keep from being spotted.

In the Decepticon leader's arms was Soundwave's creation, Ravage.

"Are you sure they're here?" Megatron whispered.

The creature nodded. He didn't know about the other scientists, but knew for a fact that his creator was there. In his very short life, one of the only things he had learned so far was that he shared a special bond with his 'father'. Ravage discovered it the very first time he was placed into Soundwave's chest compartment. Even out of the compartment, he could faintly feel his parent's pulse in his own mind. It assured him that the azure robot was still alive. It also gave him a 'sixth sense' as to the constant knowledge of Soundwave's location.

The warlord landed on the ground several miles from the base and placed the little robot on the ground. He connected a very small camera to Ravage's head. "Alright then, this is your very first assignment. I want you to sneak inside and locate the scientists. I want to make sure that they're there and alive before I mount any kind of attack. The Decepticons can't afford to be careless and waste unnecessary energy...but we also can't afford to allow the Autobots to keep those scientists prisoner. Primus knows what they plan to do with them. Can you handle this, Ravage? If you save the scientists, in turn you will save Soundwave, as he will be amongst them."

It wasn't normally a great idea to send in a newly constructed robot into a crowded enemy base, but Ravage was small and designed specifically for stealth. That, along with the fact that the creature looked as if he'd be able to locate his creator and the others more swiftly and accurately than most, was what made him most suitable for the job.

Ravage nodded, growling softly. Megatron secured the camera. Then the little creature turned and darted toward the base...

-----

With a soft groan, Twilight's systems reactivated. The blinding lights were an immense relief to one who had up until that moment seen nothing but darkness. She felt more invigorated at that moment than she had throughout the past week - as if her energy had been mostly restored. She glanced around to find herself in a laboratory and that was laying on a table. There were other tables alongside her, but they were empty. She was also alone.

The femme tried to get up, and it was then she realized that she was strapped down. Immediately she began to panic. Where was she? Why was she here?! Where were the others?!! After struggling a bit and getting nowhere, she forced herself to calm down.

What would Soundwave do in this situation?

Twilight examined the links that tied her down, finding one that was loose. Glancing around carefully, she wiggled her wrist until she managed to pull it out of the cuff. She then tugged at the band around her other wrist, while wiggling the captured appendage, until finally it, too was free. After that was accomplished, releasing her legs was much easier. Once she was completely free of the bonds, she swung her legs over the table and dropped down.

Pressing her back against the wall by the door, Twilight carefully peered out and down the hallway. She wasn't sure where she was, as far as she knew she and the others could have been rescued. It would have explained the sudden and unexplainable restoration of her vitality. But, then why would her rescuers have her tied down? Seeing no one in the hallway, she moved out of her hiding place and ran. The femme didn't intend to feel safe until she knew exactly where she was. Although it wasn't a good idea to run blindly down the hall, a growing panic was clouding her judgment. If she could just get out of here. If she could just find out where she was without putting herself or anyone else in danger. If only...

...if only she could find the others.

...if only she could find Soundwave.

Rounding the corner, her internal logic had just enough time to tell her that she should have stopped and looked first before she collided with something much larger and heavier than she was. With an 'umph!' the femme fell backwards onto the cold, hard floor and looked up fearfully at her attacker to find...

"Soundie!" Twilight cried, relief thickening her voice. He was standing above her unaided and repaired.

They must have been rescued! Everything was going to be ok!

Although the very edges of her thoughts drifted back to the question as to why she had been strapped down, they were ignored. The femme scrambled onto her feet and threw her arms around his waist in a hug.

"Soundwave...I'm so happy to see you!"

There was no response. He neither returned the gesture nor answered vocally.

Although the azure robot was by nature quiet and unaffectionate, at that moment there was something very, very off about him. An internal alarm went off in Twilight's mind. She slowly pulled back and gazed upon him. "Soundwave...?"

He looked down at her with a frightening air of detachment. He was always known for being aloof...but not like this. Never like this. Underneath Soundwave's generally cold exterior held a fiery passion for everything he did. It wasn't always visible, but it was always there. Always.

But looking up into his golden eyes, she saw nothing.

_Golden eyes..._

The pearl android's inner mechanics sped up in fear.

_"The 'Bots are brainwashing neutrals"_

She took a step back.

__

"These neutrals had never expressed any previous desire to join the Autobots..."

Her emerald optics widened in horror.

__

"They all came from destroyed colonies...general attitude and behavior changed dramatically."

Soundwave stepped forward, regarding the girl as if she was no more familiar to him than a stranger.

__

"Their optics turned gold..."

"Primus..."

----

__

Author's Notes: This chapter seemed to vivid in my mind until it was actually time to write it. _ Nevertheless, I think the ending result was pretty on target. Sorry this took so long (two months, I believe. Ouch.) I hope that the next one won't, but with college and all I can't make any guarantees. Nonetheless, I will one day finish this fic. I never intend to let it sit idle forever. Hmm, for some reason, although I add spaces between scene breaks (sometimes 2 or even 3 lines of space), they don't show up on ff.net. So I've added little --- between the breaks to replace them. Does anyone know why the spaces never show up, even when I add like 4 lines of space? I know it can be confusing without the spaces. Anyways, I hope you liked the chapter and that it made up for all the time you spent waiting for it. XD 


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